Mattias John Erich Weinhandl (born June 1, 1980) is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
right winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
who last played for
Linköpings HC Linköpings may refer to:
*Linköpings ASS, Linköpings Allmänna Simsällskap is a Swedish swim team
*Linköpings FC, an association football club
* Linköpings FF, premier men's football team
* Linköpings HC, Linköpings Hockey Club
See als ...
of the Swedish
Elitserien.
Weinhandl was drafted 78th overall by the
New York Islanders in the
1999 NHL Entry Draft
The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in talen ...
. He played 182 career NHL games for the Islanders and the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
, scoring 19 goals and 37 assists for 56 points. He overcame a serious eye injury in 1999 to make the Islanders squad two seasons later.
Playing career
On November 13, 1999, the 19-year-old Weinhandl was playing for Team Sweden in a game against the Czech Republic in the U-20 Four Nations Tournament. Approximately 51 minutes into the game, Weinhandl was struck in the left eye by Czech player
Michal Trávníček's stick. The incident came mere seconds after Weinhandl hooked Trávníček in the hip area to prevent him from getting past him. Trávníček fell down and upon rising, assaulted Weinhandl with his stick, aiming it in a way that it would reach under Weinhandl's half visor and strike the Swede in the face. Weinhandl's forehead was fractured and his vision in the eye was reduced to 10%. The
International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...
(IIHF) judged the incident to be an attack and banned Trávníček from participating in international play for three years.
NHL
New York Islanders
Weinhandl broke into the NHL during the 2002–03 season. He tallied his first NHL point (an assist) in his first NHL game on November 4, 2002 against the
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
. He picked up his first NHL goal 23 days later, on November 27, against the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...
' goalie
Patrick Lalime. He played in that season's YoungStars game, which took place in
Sunrise, Florida during the
All-Star break and picked up a goal and an assist. He missed a number of games during the early part of the season due to a sprained shoulder, but finished the year with 23 points (six goals and 17 assists) in 47 games.
The following season, Weinhandl was forced to start the season for the Islanders' minor league team, the
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...
, to rehab an ankle injury that kept him out of the 2003 playoffs and required surgery over the summer. Upon being deemed fit to play for the Islanders, Weinhandl played for the most part on a line with
Alexei Yashin, and notched 20 points (eight goals and 12 assists) in 55 games.
Minnesota Wild
Upon returning from his 2004–05 campaign in Sweden, Weinhandl was quickly signed to a two-year, $1.6 million contract to keep him with the Islanders. Weinhandl played mostly on the team's fourth line. He recorded six points (two goals and four assists) in 53 games for the Islanders before he was waived and claimed by the Minnesota Wild on March 4, 2006. In 15 games for Minnesota, Weinhandl picked up two goals and three assists.
In the 2006–07 season, Weinhandl was a healthy scratch in 13 of the team's first 28 games (missing an additional three games after suffering a concussion) before being waived by the Wild on December 8, 2006.
AHL
Houston Aeros
Unclaimed he was assigned to the Wild's minor league affiliate, the
Houston Aeros, on December 9. Before being sent down, he tallied one goal and one assist in 12 games.
Weinhandl found some success in the minor league. He played in 48 games with the Aeros, scoring 18 goals and 27 assists with a total of 20 penalty minutes. During that span, he had several multi-point games, including four assists in one of the final games of the season.
Elitserien
Modo
From the 1999–00 season to the 2001–02 season, Weinhandl played for
Modo in the Swedish elite league
Elitserien. His first season there, he was on a very successful line with
Henrik
Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estonian), Heik ...
and
Daniel Sedin
Daniel Hans Sedin (born 26 September 1980) is a Swedish professional ice hockey executive and former professional ice hockey winger who played his entire 17-season National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Vancouver Canucks from 2000 to 2018 ...
, now of the NHL's
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
. The line was dubbed "Line 19", as Weinhandl and both Sedins were 19-years-of-age at the time. He returned to play for Modo again in the 2004–05 season due to the NHL lockout. Weinhandl led the team in scoring with 46 points (26 goals and 20 assists) in 50 games and was third in the league in points, behind only
Henrik Zetterberg
Henrik Zetterberg (; born 9 October 1980) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey forward. He played his entire National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL), for whom he would serve as capt ...
of
Timrå
Timrå () is a locality and the seat of Timrå Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 10,443 inhabitants in 2010.
It is located about 13 km north of Sundsvall (a town with a metropolitan area of some 100,000 inhabitants), and c ...
and
Kristian Huselius of
Linköping
Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
, and tied with
Shawn Horcoff of
Mora
Mora may refer to:
People
* Mora (surname)
Places Sweden
* Mora, Säter, Sweden
* Mora, Sweden, the seat of Mora Municipality
* Mora Municipality, Sweden
United States
* Mora, Louisiana, an unincorporated community
* Mora, Minnesota, a city
* M ...
.
Linköping
Weinhandl signed with
Linköping
Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...
on April 22, 2007. He signed a two-year deal worth 7.2 million
Swedish kronor, with an option for a third year. During the 2007–08 season, Weinhandl enjoyed a good return to Sweden, scoring 35 goals to win the
Håkan Loob Trophy
The Håkan Loob Trophy is the annual award for the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) player who scores the most goals during the regular season. It was created by Svenska Hockeyligan and Canal+
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or ...
. He also netted 27 assists for a total of 62 points, second in the league only to his line mate
Tony Mårtensson
Tony Hans Mårtensson (born June 23, 1980) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey center. He was born in Upplands Väsby, Sweden.
Playing career
Mårtensson was drafted by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft in the 7th ...
.
Weinhandl drew the attention of the
Russian Superleague
The Russian Superleague (russian: Чемпионат России Суперлига, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was consi ...
(RSL) and on April 23, 2008, it was announced that he would be loaned out to
Dynamo Moscow
MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
in the Russian
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
(KHL) for the 2008–09 season. That same day, he also signed a contract extension with Linköping, ensuring his return and keeping him in Linköping's possession through 2012.
After Linköping's early exit in the
2009 Elitserien playoffs, it seemed that the team would bring back all of their loaned players, including Weinhandl. However, it was announced on April 14 that Weinhandl would be staying with Dynamo Moscow in Russia for another season.
On April 21, 2012, it was announced that Weinhandl would be returning to Linköping and play there for at least two more years, much to the liking of the fans.
On April 26, 2014, Weinhandl officially announced his retirement as a player due to injuries.
Kontinental Hockey League
Dynamo Moscow
Weinhandl's first season in Russia was not quite as successful as he might have hoped — he suffered a knee injury late in the pre-season that caused him to miss the first fourteen games of the season. He finished the regular season with 16 goals and 17 assists in 41 games. Dynamo was a participant in the
2008 Spengler Cup that took place in December 2008. Weinhandl, along with his teammate
Dmitry Afanasenkov, led the tournament in scoring with seven points apiece and helped Dynamo win the tournament for the second time in their history.
Weinhandl elevated his game in the
2009 KHL playoffs, scoring 16 points in 12 games, and was among the statistical leaders in several offensive categories. In addition, he was named the league's best forward in the month of March, based on his play in the playoffs. The team made it to the semi-final round, where it was eliminated by the eventual
Gagarin Cup
The Gagarin Cup (russian: Кубок Гагарина, Kubok Gagarina) is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was ...
winner
Ak Bars Kazan
Hockey Club Ak Bars (russian: Ак Барс, tt-Cyrl, Ак Барс, en, Snow Leopard), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey ...
.
Weinhandl returned to Dynamo Moscow for the
2009–10 season, scoring 60 points in 56 games. This placed him again among the statistical league leaders, most notably as the top scoring foreign (non-Russian) player. He was also named best forward for the month of October. Dynamo fared poorly in the playoffs that season and was eliminated in the first round.
SKA St. Petersburg
After the 2009-2010 season, Dynamo Moscow was disbanded and Weinhandl was instead contracted by
SKA St Petersburg prior to 2010-2011 season. During this season he has been reunited with his old line-mate from Linköping, Tony Mårtensson, and former Islanders teammate
Alexei Yashin. SKA took part in the
2010 Spengler Cup
The 2010 Spengler Cup was held in Davos, Switzerland, from December 26 to December 31, 2010. All matches were played at host HC Davos's home Vaillant Arena. The number of teams was expanded from five to six in comparison to previous seasons, and ...
tournament in Davos, Switzerland, in December 2010. Weinhandl helped his team beat Team Canada in the final to win the tournament for the fourth time in team history and the first time since 1977. It was also the third year in a row that a team from the KHL won the tournament.
Return to Sweden
Weinhandl left the KHL after four seasons and returned to his native Sweden in signing a contract with former club Linköpings HC. In the midst of his second season with the club, and having sat out the entirety of year due to lingering concussion symptoms, Weinhandl announced his retirement from professional hockey on April 26, 2014.
International play
Weinhandl has played for Sweden's national team often in his career, including the 1999
IIHF World U20 Championship
The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...
, and the
IIHF World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...
in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Weinhandl was among the top scorers in both the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2009 tournaments, ending up tied for third in total points each year. In 2009, he helped the ''
Tre Kronor'' win bronze, their first medal since winning the gold in 2006.
On December 27, 2009, Weinhandl was named to the
2010 Swedish Olympic national team.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
Michal Travnicek of Czech Republic receives long suspensionAccount of Weinhandl's eye injury
300 000 i månadenInformation on Weinhandl's signing with LHC
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinhandl, Mattias
1980 births
Living people
Bridgeport Sound Tigers players
Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
HC Dynamo Moscow players
Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players
Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Linköping HC players
Minnesota Wild players
Modo Hockey players
New York Islanders draft picks
New York Islanders players
Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
People from Ljungby Municipality
SKA Saint Petersburg players
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Swedish ice hockey right wingers
Swedish people of German descent
Sportspeople from Kronoberg County